Transcript COEXISTENCE IN NORTH DAKOTA

COEXISTENCE IN
NORTH DAKOTA
Brad Brummond
September 2005
SITUATION
 North Dakota is a national leader in
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Certified organic production
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Oil seeds (flax and sunflower)
Cereal grains
 North Dakota is increasing it’s acres of
transgenic crops
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Soybeans
Corn
SITUATION
 Organic and IP markets have low to no
tolerance for transgenic crops.
 Biotech markets need pure seed for traits to
work.
 World market is increasingly demanding
specialized and branded products.
HOW TO PROTECT MARKETS
 Products need to be segregated and genetic
drift contained.
 Agriculture needs to work together to
guarantee markets.
 If markets can not be met we lose markets
and income for North Dakota.
ISSUES (AS IDENTIFIED CWG)
 Liability
 Segregation
 Tolerances
 Seed Certification Standards
 Germ Plasm Purity
 Opportunity and Consequences
 Neighbor Relations and Communication
 Education of Consumers
COEXISTENCE WORKING GROUP
 July 02-05
 Made up of stakeholders
 Developed Best Management Practices
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Organic growers and one conventional grower
withdrew in protest over BMPs.
See handout of BMPs
HOW DO WE COEXIST
 Communication
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Industry
University
Regulatory
Producers
Seedstocks
 If we do not communicate and help each
other we all lose.
HOW DO WE COEXIST
 Strict segregation practices must be followed.
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Equipment cleanout
Facilities clean
Tarp trucks
Dedicated resources
HOW DO WE COEXIST
 We must maintain genetic purity.
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If we do not have pure lots how can we serve
our markets?
Buffer strips
Distance
Pretest seed
Planting dates
OTHER WAYS
 Understand contracts and risk
 Be a good neighbor
 Insurance??
ISSUES YET TO BE RESOLVED
 How far is far enough?
 Liability?
 Tolerances?
 What to do with unintended presence in
seedlots?
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
 BMPs developed
 Communication started
 Other states and nations continuing efforts.
 North Dakota was one of the first efforts in
coexistence.
CONCLUSION
 We must remember that coexistence is a
journey, not a destination.
Brad Brummond
North Dakota Coexistence Coordinator
 Any opinions, findings, conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this
publication are those of the authors and do
not necessarily reflect the view of USDA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This material is based upon work supported
by the Cooperative State, Research,
Education and Extension Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, and Nebraska
Experiments, University of Nebraska, under
cooperative agreement number 2000-3864011923
Additional funding was provided by Monsanto
Questions? Comments?